Spill Release Reporting

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HAZMAT SPILL NOTIFICATIONS CALL THE STATE WARNING CENTER 1-800-852-7550

HazMat Spill Release Reporting Archive (See Below)
HazMat Spill Release Reporting Database

Hazardous Materials Section News / Updates

05/11/2016

All sections within California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 19, Division 2, Chapter 4, Hazardous Material Release Reporting, Inventory, and Response Plans have been renumbered. This change was necessary because Senate Bill 84 (2015) added Article 3.9 (commencing with Section 8574.30) to Government Code Title 2, Division 1, Chapter 7, Regional Railroad Accident Preparedness and Immediate Response. Cal OES is required to implement regulations under Article 3.9. Those new regulations will be added to CCR, Title 19, Division 2 as Chapter 4.1, immediately following the renumbered Chapter 4. The Chapter 4 section renumbering does not materially alter any requirement, right, responsibility, condition, prescription, or other regulatory element of any California Code of Regulations provision. For more information regarding the renumbering, please refer to the following document:

Chapter 4 Renumbering Effective 11MAY16

Introduction

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensations, and Liability Act (CERCLA), Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and California law require responsible parties to report hazardous material releases if certain criteria is met.

CERCLA requires that all releases of hazardous substances (including radionuclides) exceeding reportable quantities be reported by the responsible party to the National Response Center (800) 424-8802. Additionally, CERCLA provides a reduced reporting requirement for continuous releases of hazardous substances that exceed the Reportable Quantity (RQ). Notification of continuous releases that equal or exceed the RQ need only be given once, with one follow-up report on the first anniversary of the initial report, following the continuous release reporting process. Thereafter only "statistically significant increases" need be reported. The purpose of the continuous release mechanism is to reduce unnecessary release notifications for releases of hazardous substances.

If an accidental chemical release exceeds the EPCRA applicable minimal reportable quantity, the facility must notify State Emergency Response Commissions (SERCs) and Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) for any area likely to be affected by the release and the National Response Center (800) 424-8802, and provide a detailed written follow-up as soon as practicable. Information about accidental chemical releases must be made available to the public.

In California, any significant release or threatened release of a hazardous material requires immediate reporting by the responsible person to the Cal OES State Warning Center (800) 852-7550 and the Unified Program Agency (UPA) or 911. The UPA may designate a call to 911 as meeting the requirement to call them.

View contact information for your jusidiction's UPA by searching the entire Directory or UPA Listing sorted by County.

Notifying the State Warning Center (800) 852-7550 and the UPA or 911 constitutes compliance with the requirements of section 11004 of title 42 of the United States Code regarding verbal notification of the SERC and LEPC (California Code of Regulations, Title 19 Section 2631 (e)).

The Cal OES HazMat Section can help you decide how to respond to a spill. They can be reached at (916) 845-8798. In addition, CHEMTREC maintains a large database of Safety Data Sheets, chemical information references resources, and networks of chemical and hazardous material experts. CHEMTREC provides access to technical information regarding chemical products as well as telephone access to product specialists, chemists, or other experts. (1-800-424-9300 in the U.S. or 703-527-3887 outside the U.S.)

Spill Reporting / Release Contact Information

Jack Harrah, Senior Emergency Services Coordinator

Hazardous Materials

Phone: (916) 845-8759

jack.harrah@caloes.ca.gov